Interrogation
by Oxymoronic Alliteration
Summary: Did they or didn't they? That's the question being asked when a man ends up dead.


_"NCIS! Federal Agents!"_

_"You're trespassing! Get out of here now!"_

"Who called in the tip, McGee?"

"It was anonymous."

"What happened when you entered the warehouse, DiNozzo?"

"We saw the man standing there, unpacking the containers."

"Did you announce yourselves, David?"

"Of course we did!"

"And he drew a gun, McGee?"

"Yes."

"Who was he pointing it at, DiNozzo?"

"McGee."

"Who fired the first shot, David?"

"I did."

"And the second shot, McGee?"

"That was me."

"And the third shot was you, DiNozzo?"

"I reacted to the situation as I saw fit."

"Was there a warning, McGee?"

"Several."

"But he didn't shoot, did he, DiNozzo?"

"No."

"So why did you shoot at him, David?"

"In Mossad you do not wait for the person to shoot first. We told him several times to drop his weapon. He did not. I was not willing to take a chance on him shooting McGee."

_"Drop your weapon!"_

_"Get out of here!"_

"This is ridiculous, Vance," Gibbs hissed as he stood in the observation room. Ziva was currently in the interrogation room where she was being questioned by Agent Fornell. Tim and Tony had already been interrogated and were currently sitting in one of the conference rooms. "They identified themselves and told him to drop his weapon."

"I understand your anger, Gibbs."

"No, I don't think you do! My people are being interrogated for doing their job!"

"They shot a civilian. An _innocent_ civilian. The man owned the warehouse."

"We got a call that the missing funds were located in that warehouse. He didn't identify himself, so they had no reason to know that he wasn't one of the thieves. If he had put down his weapon when they'd told him to, they wouldn't have shot."

"Yes, well Mr. Otillio won't get to tell his side of the story," Fornell said as he entered. Ziva remained in the interrogation room. Her eyes were focused on the mirror, narrowed as though shooting daggers.

"Are you accusing my team of lying?"

"I'm saying that we can't ignore this just because they're your people. Maybe they identified themselves properly; maybe they didn't. Maybe they warned him to drop the weapon; maybe they didn't."

"If they say they did, then they did, Tobias."

"That may work for you, Gibbs, but I require a bit more to go on."

"You've questioned all of them and they've all said the same thing. Unless you've been dabbling in the mind reading business without telling me, you have no reason to think they're lying."

"Gibbs, if it were my choice we wouldn't even be doing this! Otillio's family, though, isn't quite so understanding. They claim your agents were trespassing on Otillio's property and that he was only defending himself and his property."

"We got a call, Tobias! I don't know how you guys do it over at the Hoover building, but here, when we get a call, we go, especially if the call pertains to a gross amount of money missing from the Marine Corps!" Gibbs was ready to throttle someone – anyone. "We've handed over a recording of the call."

Fornell nodded. The anonymous tip had indeed instructed the agents to raid the warehouse in question, claiming the stolen funds were being held there. Even after Otillio had been shot, the warehouse had been searched; nothing had come up. Now it was a question of why the agents had been led there in the first place? Had the tipster been mistaken? Had the tipster been messing with their minds? Had the tipster wanted Otillio killed? Death by federal agents was a nearly untraceable crime.

"If you want to arrest someone, you should be looking into who made the call that brought my people there!"

Vance took that moment to step between the two men. Gibbs and Fornell were both professionals and he was sure they'd each be able to keep their cool as much as possible, but he didn't need an altercation, even in the form of a verbal attack. Right now, he was more concerned about the fate of Tim, Tony, and Ziva.

"Agent Fornell, I allowed you to interrogate the three of them. As far as I can tell, you have nothing to suggest they did not properly identify themselves and order Otillio to drop his weapon. I, of course, cannot deny you the right to investigate this case further," Vance added, giving Gibbs a look to keep him from interrupting, "but for the time being, I think we should let DiNozzo, David, and McGee get back to their work here."

Fornell nodded. "Of course, Vance. We're done with them for now."

"For good," Gibbs added.

The FBI agent didn't bother to respond, but rather gave both Gibbs and Vance a brisk good-bye as he left.

_"Sir, I will give you until the count of three to drop your weapon."_

_"You people have no right to be here!"_

_"One…"_

"Boy, that was ridiculous, wasn't it?"

Tim and Ziva looked up at Tony's comment. Though it was the sort of thing they were used to hearing from him, there wasn't any humor in his comment, nor did his face betray any hints of humor at their current situation.

"It's always fun to be under investigation for doing our job."

"The FBI has to verify that our actions were necessary and properly performed, Tony," Tim muttered. He was hoping to forget the entire incident had ever happened.

"Why would they not believe us?" Ziva asked. "We did what we were supposed to do."

_"I swear, if you three don't get out, I'll shoot!"_

_"…Two…"_

"We are law enforcement officials! We shoot people, especially when those people have guns pointed at us."

"We know that, Ziva," Tim said calmly in an attempt to soothe the Mossad agent. "And they know that too."

"I think the FBI just gets its kicks from making us squirm," Tony mused.

Ziva didn't even acknowledge Tony's comment. "It is not our fault that we were called to that warehouse! It is not our fault that we were given inaccurate information!"

"My guess is we were lured out there to do exactly what we did."

"And what is that, Tony?"

"Kill Otillio."

Tim sat back, flashbacks of the Benedict incident playing in his mind. "Even if we were…it doesn't make me feel any better."

Ziva sighed. "Nor I."

Tony had to agree with them both.

_"…Three…"_

_Bang!_

_Bang!_

_Bang!_

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**AN:** Just something I cooked up for the NFA Community Weekly Writing Challenge!

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End file.
